Matt Plichta was one of roughly 500 area residents who packed into the Hart Prairie Lodge on Wednesday to compete for seasonal jobs with Arizona Snowbowl.
Plichta, who says he has experience working with heavy equipment, is part of a new trend the ski area is now seeing — qualified individuals vying for the temporary positions.
Maureen McNeill, the human resources director for Snowbowl, said the individuals who attended the job fair on Wednesday were not just the typical high school and college students looking to work for a few hours on the weekend to get a free ski pass.
Many applicants on Wednesday were older and were looking for full-time work, she said.
“It was probably some of the most qualified applicants (hiring managers) have seen in a long time,” she said. “The pulse was that there were more people looking for more hours.”
A total of 150 people lined up outside the two-story lodge before the doors opened at 3 p.m., a first for the ski area’s job fair.
The promise of consistent, predictable hours because of snowmaking was one of the reasons McNeill believes there were more qualified applicants this year.
In previous ski seasons, employees were largely at the mercy of Mother Nature, working only when there was enough snow to justify keeping Snowbowl open.
General manager J.R. Murray said he expects to see more applicants next year, when the ski area is expected to be open for roughly 120 days.
This year, Snowbowl is expected to open no later than Christmas.
At least 50 percent of the employees hired by Snowbowl this year are rehires, McNeill confirmed.
The rest, she said, should be in place by Monday, with managers calling applicants to offer them jobs over the next few days.
Plichta is optimistic he will get a call, noting the line to talk to Snowbowl managers about a job in snow removal was relatively short.
“I think it went really well,” he said. “I didn’t have to wait really long.”
Some positions that did not require specific experience saw hundreds of applicants on Wednesday.
Plichta said he moved back to Flagstaff for financial reasons after he graduated from high school, noting he worked similar jobs in Oregon and California.
He said he was looking for steady work, not a ski pass.
“I ski only every couple of years — I am not really good,” he said.
Joe Ferguson can be reached at 556-2253 or jferguson@azdailysun.com.
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